Agilix Backpack

Some of you may find when working in discussion boards that Backpack appears to lose the “read” status for previously read discussion board posts. Unfortunately, this is caused by a bug on some Blackboard servers. Some versions of Blackboard server ignore the read/unread status sent by Backpack.

I’m afraid there is not much you can do about this. Agilix has reported the problem to Blackboard, Inc., but it has not yet been resolved.

This is what happens (this all happens within 1-2 seconds):

1. You read a post in Backpack; Backpack marks it as “read”
2. When you sync with your Blackboard account, Backpack sends the “read” status to the server
3. The server accepts the status without returning an error to Backpack
4. The server then drops the status for some unknown reason (so it retains its “unread” status for the post)
5. Backpack immediately attempts to re-sync with the server, requesting updates for all statuses
6. The server sends the “unread” status back to Backpack (because it ignored the “read” status)
7. Backpack changes its “read” status back to “unread” because that is what the server told it to do

There is no fix and no work around for this bug. Backpack will always sync to match what the server shows. So, for instance, if you were to go online to read the posts, they would change to “read” online. Then, when you sync Backpack with the server again, the status will change from “unread” to “read” in Backpack to match the server.

Trust me – Agilix knows how frustrating this bug is. It is frustrating to them, too! Unfortunately, the fix must be made on the server side by Blackboard, Inc.

Backpack allows you to take a digital “print capture” of almost any document. A good rule of thumb is this: if you can print it to paper, you can print it to Backpack. Whether you want to print a web page, Word doc, PDF – whatever – simply print to the Backpack Capture printer and your document will be stored in annotatable format in your Backpack file database.

For example, find a document to print (in this case, a web page). Click File > Print in the document you want to print.

Select the Backpack Capture printer from you list of available printers and click Print/OK.

When the capture is completed, you might see a popup from the taskbar.

Return to Backpack. You will see a screen appear that will allow you to manage your print capture. If you do not see the screen when you return to Backpack, look for a Backpack icon on the taskbar and double click it. From this screen you can edit the name of your print capture, choose where to send it in Backpack, preview the print capture and more. When you are finished, click Done.

Print captures are stored in the My Notes section of Backpack.

You can “print capture” the Blackboard course content you have downloaded to Backpack. This creates a version of the document that you can annotate. When you navigate to a piece of content you wish to capture for annotation, simply click the “Capture” button on the toolbar.

Your printer window may or may not appear depending on the type of content that you are trying to print. If it appears make sure the Backpack Capture printer is selected and click Print/OK.

You will then see a progress bar appear while the content is printing.

When the print capture has finished processing the progress bar will tell you the capture is complete. Click Close.

The software will automatically toggle you to the printed version of the document where you can make annotations by highlighting sections, typing text, circling important phrases, etc. You can use any of the tools that appear on the toolbar above the printed page.

Finally, if you hover your mouse near the top of the print capture you will see a toggle stip appear. Click the link in the strip and you will go back to the original document. There will now be a toggle strip on the original as well. To pin the toggle strip so that it always appears just click the pin to the right of the strip.

If you receive an error that says your key has been used the maximum number of times (below), don’t panic!

This does not happen often, but when it does it usually indicates that (1) there is a firewall blocking Backack’s ability to validate its license, or (2) there is confusion about how the key works.

Firewall. Make sure you add Agilix Backpack as an exception to your firewall software. Also, if you run your computer on a corporate network you may want to ask your IT group to permit Backpack’s attempt to reach the license server. The URL is: http://license.agilix.com/backpack/backpacklicense.asmx

How the key works. The license key can only be used to activate two storage locations.

This means that you can either activate on the hard drive of two machines, or on the hard drive of one machine and a USB drive, or on a network drive and a USB drive, or on two separate directories of the same hard drive, etc. Reformatting a computer will also cause the system to think it’s a new location. The total storage locations for the key can only be two.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Contact Agilix Support and ask them to reset your key. But remember to correct the underlying firewall issue first, or it will just happen again.

If you have the need to regularly use the software on different machines then you might try using the software with a USB flash drive for storage. In that case you would never activate the software on the hard drive of the machine(s) you are using – only activate on the USB. You can find more information about that option in the tutorials at the official Backpack site:

http://backpack.agilix.com/3.0Tutorials_USB.aspx

If you receive the invalid key error below when trying to activate the software, double check your key. Note that the Agilix Backpack key will not include any letter O’s (only number zero). Note that some letters and numbers may be difficult to distinguish, such as B/8, S/5, and G/6, so double check and try again.

This error will only appear if (1) you enter your key incorrectly, (2) your key was once valid, but has since been rendered invalid (if you received a refund, for example), or (3) you received a key from Handango, but it was not fully processed and enabled by Agilix (this is rare, but has happened).

If you double check your key, but still cannot get it to activate, contact Agilix for further assistance.

When you run Backpack after installing for the first time, you will see the following activation prompt appear (Note: it usually does not appear until the second time you launch the software). To continue in trial mode click Continue; otherwise, click Activate License to procede to activate the software:

There are two general methods for activating the Backpack software. One method is what Agilix calls the “silent activation” method. This really just means you don’t have to do anything except use Backpack. If your school has a site license to Backpack and they have opted for the “silent activation” method then all you need to do is connect Backpack to your Blackboard account and your software will automatically activate. If your school uses this method then click Go to Trial.

If you purchased a license (or if your school uses license keys for their site license) then you will use the key activation method, so click Enter Key.

Enter your activation key into the space provided and click Activate.

If you entered your key correctly, you should see a confirmation screen like this:

To connect Backpack to Blackboard click Download > Download a Course in Backpack.

When the wizard comes up, click the “Click Here to Begin” button.

Add your Blackboard login information into the spaces provided (Blackboard URL, user name, password) and click “Connect to Blackboard Now.” (the connection will only work if you are trying to connect to a compatible and enabled Blackboard server)

You will see this screen as the software tries to connect to your Blackboard account.

If the connection is successful, you will then see a list of courses available for download. Click the link to whichever course you wish to download (or click “Download all courses”).

You will see the status as the course downloads.

When the course has completely downloaded you can either click the “Click here to view the course” button to view the course, or click the link to the right to download another course.

Sometimes during installation you might see a “setup initialization error.” This can be caused be a couple of different things: (1) the Backpack installation file is corrupted or was not completely downloaded before you tried installing it, or (2) you are missing Microsoft .NET 2.0.

Installation file. You may want to delete the Backpack “setup.exe” file you were using and download it again from the Agilix website here. Once you have redownloaded the file, try installing it.

Missing .NET 2.0. Microsoft .NET 2.0 (dotnetfx.exe) may be missing from your computer. This component from Microsoft is a prerequisite for running Backpack. If Backpack can’t find this on your machine before it installs it will try to send you out to get it from the Microsoft web site. Sometimes when you try to get this file, it results in a “Setup initialization error” or similar message. Most computers have this component already, so it’s usually not a problem. You can get it here if needed:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en

Save the file to your desktop and then install it. Then install Backpack after that. Once you have the required .NET component installed, you should be able to install Backpack easily.

Please make sure your system meets the Backpack system requirements. Many times people have problems because their system does not meet these requirements, so double check! You will save lots of time troubleshooting issues if you ensure your system will work.

Minimum Requirements:
32-bit Windows XP SP1 (SP2 for Tablet PCs) or 32-bit Windows Vista
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Microsoft.Ink.dll CLR2.0 Update (KB900722) (for Tablet PCs)
500Mhz processor
256MB RAM
100MB Hard Disk

Recommended Requirements:
32-bit Windows XP SP2 / Vista
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Microsoft.Ink.dll CLR2.0 Update (KB900722) (for Tablet PCs)
1Ghz processor
512MB RAM
200MB Hard Disk

Links for Downloading Required Microsoft Components:

Windows XP SP2 (via Microsoft Update)
http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=3646727

Microsoft .NET 2.0
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en

FOR TABLET PC USERS
Microsoft.Ink.dll CLR2.0 Update (KB900722)
Update for Tablet PC Microsoft Ink and .Net Framework 2.0 compatibility.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=84bbefa4-7047-41df-8583-e3bdbf9d805f&DisplayLang=en

Unfortunately, Backpack does NOT work with MAC. It likely never will. Some MAC users have been able to take advantage of the benefits of Backpack by dual-booting their systems with Windows XP using Parallels or Boot Camp. If you are a MAC user then that may be an option for you. If that is not an option then unfortunately, there is no solution or work around.